Councillors have called on a homeowner – who has had plans rejected SIX times in THREE years – to “get the message” and submit a proposal that is “sensitive”.

Reading Borough Council (RBC) has rejected attempts to turn the large house at 39 Brunswick Hill, near Reading West Station, into flats in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and planning inspectors have now done the same.

A government planning inspector last week rejected the latest appeal by the homeowner against the council’s decision to reject an eight-flats plan in June, replicating decisions from two previous inspectors.

READ MORE: Development plans at 'stunning' Edwardian house refused for SIXTH time in THREE years

Councillor Tony Page, lead member for Planning, slammed the developer for the “greedy” plans at RBC’s Planning Applications committee meeting on Wednesday, October 7.

He said : “How many times, how many refusal before you get the message? Not only from us, but also from three planning inspectors.

“What we want to see is a sensitive use of this building.

“Hopefully the planning inspectorate reinforcing our views locally will mean the applicant will go away and look at doing something without adding disproportionate extensions and hacking it around.

“Do something with the building as it currently is, don’t be greedy and face another costly planning appeal.”

He said councillors want to see a “sensitive use of this building, perhaps a small number of flats inside.”

READ MORE: Newtown gas holder demolition plan will NOT happen yet - council rejects request

Cllr Page added: “I do not think we need more HMOs in this area, or in this building”.

Also praising the inspector’s decision, councillor Karen Rowland, lead member for Heritage at RBC, called the building “a beautiful structure” and suggested it could be a multi-tenanted property but warned against turning it into a HMO.

Meanwhile, a fourth plan is already in the works, with council officers, including RBC’s new Conservation and Urban Design Officer, meeting with the applicant and agent soon.

Planning officer Julie Williams said: “Watch this space and hopefully the next application for this site will be more acceptable”.